ECONOMY WEEKLY - WEEK OF NOVEMBER 2, 2009

For Immediate Release:

November 6, 2009

Contact:Katie GrantStephanie Lundberg(202) 225 - 3130

“[W]e are pleased that the actions that we took swiftly through the Recovery Act helped to stem what could have been a disastrous situation for the economy and we are starting to see stabilization and, indeed, some improvement. But … we just are not where we need to be yet. We've got a long way to go … [W]e all know that in every economic recovery there is going to be a lag between the economy growing again, businesses investing again and businesses hiring again.”
–President Barack Obama, Remarks during the meeting of the
President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, 11/2/09

Today, the Department of Labor released the unemployment report for October, disappointing numbers that are far too high. However, we also saw that job losses are continuing to improve from where they were a year ago. Congress will continue working to do everything possible to spur economic growth and get Americans back to work.

Economy Highlight:

• Today, the President signed the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act into law, which extends unemployment benefits to those who have been jobless for a long period of time, provides tax incentives to prospective homebuyers, and includes tax cuts for struggling businesses. This legislation, passed yesterday in the House with a bipartisan vote of 403-12, “builds on provisions in the $787 billion stimulus package enacted last February that aim at spurring job creation.” [Associated Press, 11/6/09]

• Eleven leading economists endorsed the Democratic plan for health care reform, stating that it “is vital to the nation's fiscal and economic future. ... [Setting] us on the path towards sustainable economic growth. In short, the House health reform legislation takes the steps necessary to promote our economic health.” [Center for American Progress, 11/6/09]

Recovery Highlight:

• Peter Orszag, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), delivered a speech this week on 'Rescue, Recovery, and Reining in the Deficit' at NYU: “Over the past eight months, the Recovery Act has made a difference. Estimates suggest that the bill added three to four percentage points to economic activity in the third quarter…To economists, these statistics may provide a small measure of optimism. But let’s be clear: these numbers are cold comfort to the millions of Americans who remain out of work.” [Office of Management and Budget, 11/3/09]